The goal of this research was to investigate attitudes toward specific mental illnesses: Schizophrenia, Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD), and Bipolar Disorder. Participants (N=92) viewed one of three cinematic video clips portraying each mental illness and then answered questions designed to measure stereotyping, acceptance, and compassion. Results did not reveal differences in acceptance, compassion, or stereotyping between the three mental illnesses, although ratings of acceptance and compassion were high for all three disorders, suggesting a possible ceiling effect. There was no difference in levels of acceptance or stereotyping between genders. Males responded with higher levels of compassion towards all three mental illnesses than did females.
